Angola Pledges to Clear Mines

Angola's once plentiful elephant herds were decimated by the country's long civil war. UNITA, backed by the US, slaughtered elephants for their ivory which they sold to South Afirca to buy weapons; displaced civilians killed elephants for food. It finally ended in 2002, but a legacy of that war is still killing elephants--land mines.  Thousands of land mines were laid in the areas of heaviest fighting in the southeast. By one authoritative count fifty-one different mine types, manufactured in eighteen different countries were laid.  Cubango province alone has twenty-two square kilometers of confirmed mine fields.

elephant signals explosives in testing

In the Great Elephant census of 2015, only 3,400 live elephants were counted in Angola.  Enumerators counted carcasses at an alarming rate of 30%, indicating a high level of poaching.  Landmines continue to restrict access to farmland and prevent development such as ecotourism, while encouraging poachers who are willing to risk the dangers for the monetary reward.  A critical area for Angolan elephant survival is the Kavango-Zambezi Trans-frontier Conservation Area (KAZA), which allows them to roam historic ranges that cross the Zambia and Botswana borders. The area was designated in 2011 primarily as a conservation zone.

A 2015 expedition mounted by National Geographic to the region found a wealth of biodiversity: 80 species new to science.  The expedition had to be guided by mine clearing experts in heavily mined zones.  According to tracking observations, returning elephants learned to avoid mine fields. A controlled study was conducted in South Africa and sponsored by the US Army to determine an elephant's ability to smell TNT.  In the first round of testing three elephants correctly identified 73 out of 74 samples. [photo]  In the second round, they achieved a perfect score.  Their smell is so acute, it is thought they can smell explosives from 100 meters away, but mine clearance is a human, not an endangered elephant job.

Angola has set a goal of being mine free by 2025.  A national agency has cleared 56% of Angola's known minefields to date.  Organizations depended on international funding have fallen short of funds, with an 80% decline in the last 10 years, partly due to Angola reaching middle income status from the sale of oil, the main export.  Readers may recall that Princess Diana made headlines with her support of mine clearing efforts.  Without more aid Angola will fall short of its 2025 goal.  The country recently announced that a pledge of $60 million to clear mines from Luengue-Liana and Mavinga national parks, prime elephant habitat. Angola wants to make room for its elephants coming home from Zambia and Botswana, and give its people living in the region a brighter economic future.